I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and remembered to give thanks for all that we have. We do have so much to give thanks for in our area. I had several people contact me to let me know how they celebrate Thanksgiving and would like to share a few stories:

Emmanuel Methodist Preschool decided to celebrate by holding a Share Day. Each child invited a family member to share a meal with his or her class. Moms, dads and grandparents came to share. Everyone had a wonderful time, while the children learned the importance of sharing with others. Did you know that Emmanuel Methodist is the first accredited preschool in all of Howard County? Many of us did not, but we do know that they have had an excellent reputation for years.

We all know that police have to work many holidays but some police officers came out on their days off to give back to the community. The Howard County Minority Police Chapter and the Fraternal Order of Police partnered with the North Laurel-Savage Multiservice Center to host a dinner for the homeless on Thanksgiving. One hundred meals were served at the center, hopefully providing a memorable holiday experience for those in need. What a great way to give back to the community.

Speaking of giving back to the community, have you made your appointment to give blood at Emmanuel United Methodist Church on Dec. 6 from 8 a.m. to noon? There is still time. To schedule an appointment, go to www.eumclaurel.org/, or call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE (1-800-272-2123) and use sponsor code 13952. The church will be offering more drives in the future. There is a desperate need for blood donations, so if you are able to donate, please do.

Have all our Reservoir High students signed up for their free tutoring yet? The Reservoir PTSA is sponsoring the Gator Academy for interested Reservoir students. The sessions will be held at the Savage Library, 1-4 p.m. on Saturdays, Dec. 5 and 19, and then again Sat., Jan. 9 and Sun., Jan 17. Students must pre-register for the tutoring; contact the school's Student Services Office.

Now that we are in the holiday season, let's all take some time to think of simple ways to give to the community that don't require us to open our wallets. We have all seen the Choose Civility bumper stickers. What are the stickers really saying? The stickers are asking each of us to just obey 15 rules of common courtesy, such as listen and pay attention to those speaking, speak kindly and respect other's opinions, respect other people's time and space and acknowledge others.

If we are considerate of others during this holiday season, I think we could all have a better holiday.

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